


Merry and Bright

by ebbj9891



Series: In Quest Of Something [14]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Bliss, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:04:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5412728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebbj9891/pseuds/ebbj9891
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new day has dawned, Brian and Justin have made up, and they are both looking forward to establishing holiday traditions of their own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry and Bright

**Author's Note:**

> This fic follows on from the events of O Christmas Tree, so I would recommend reading that one first: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2850296

When Brian wakes up alone, his first thought is:  _Goddamnit, are we still fighting?_

He stares at Justin’s side of the bed, left empty, and touches the sheets. When he feels that they’re still warm, it all comes back to him - they aren’t still fighting, they made up yesterday.

They did a damn good job of it, too. The entire bedroom looks like a wreck. As Brian sits up, he surveys the chaos and smiles to himself. That smile grows when he hears very familiar noises floating down the hallway from the kitchen, where Justin must be making breakfast.

Brian jumps out of bed and wanders over to the window. As he gazes out, eastward across Soho, and watches snow fall over the rooftops. Everything already looks so much better than it did yesterday morning - he can’t wait to see what the rest of the day will bring.

*

As soon as Brian makes his way into the kitchen, he heads to where Justin is standing by the stove and drapes himself over his back. Whilst wrapping his arms around Justin’s middle, Brian murmurs, “Morning, Sunshine.”

“Morning,” Justin says, with a sparkle in his voice. He places his left hand over Brian’s forearms and strokes them gently, whilst tending to the breakfast with his right. “Sleep well?”

“How could I not?” Brian nuzzles the back of Justin’s neck. “You wore me out.”

 _“You_ wore  _me_ out,” Justin laughs. He nudges Brian gently. “Go sit down, this is almost ready.”

Brian peers over Justin’s shoulder as Justin lifts the final crêpe from the pan to drop it atop a huge stack. After peeling himself off Justin, Brian goes to sit down at the island where a pot of fresh coffee is waiting. Brian pours them both a cup and then grabs the sugar to start sweetening his.

“I was thinking,” Justin says, as he sits down and starts dishing up the crêpes, “About our new traditions.”

“You mean that tradition?” Brian nods towards the Christmas tree, still in its box, discarded in the farmost corner of the kitchen. They must have dropped it there, somewhere between getting home and fucking on the kitchen counter.

“Shit,” Justin chuckles, “Okay, we have to set that up today. But I was thinking more broadly about our Christmas traditions. Stuff other than the tree, you know?”

“And what has Sunshine come up with?”

As Brian grins at Justin, Justin grins back.

“Well, where do I even begin?”

*

It starts with decorations.

While the tree remains in its box, now lying abandoned in the space it ought to be filling, they turn their attention to the decorations - or, rather, as far as Brian is concerned, the lack-thereof.

“Okay,” Justin says, heaping the parcel of decorations onto the dining table. “This is what mom sent us.”

“I see,” Brian says, although he wishes he couldn’t. Spread out in front of him is an alarming assembly of snowmen, reindeer, and angels - all of them bearing intense grins whilst covered from head to toe in glitter.

He makes a mental note to ask Daphne exactly what was so wrong with her mother’s tree. Surely something reminiscent of a Vogue spread would be preferable to  _this._

“You have right of veto,” Justin says, whilst chewing on his lower lip.

And just like that, Brian sees the light. He tries not to seem too thrilled as he says, “I do?”

“It’s our tree,” Justin replies, nodding. “I know some of this stuff isn’t really you. It’s not really me, either - not anymore. If we’re going to have a tree, it should reflect us.”

Brian hums thoughtfully. Whilst eyeing the pile of decorations, he asks cautiously, “Are there any that I shouldn’t veto?”

Justin glances down at the pile and starts sifting through them. Brian watches with intrigue as Justin plucks out a glass candy-cane and a crystal star - both of which are outliers within the collection, and both of which Brian is quite content to keep. Then Justin pushes aside a string of dancing Santas to grab at a set of wooden hearts, painted white and red, with intricate carvings. Brian can’t help but eye them admiringly. He smiles a little when he notices Justin doing the same, only with obvious affection mingled in. As Justin sets aside the candy-cane, star, and hearts, he notes quietly, “I want to keep those.”

“Sure. So… the rest of them…”

Justin shrugs. “Do your worst.”

With a chuckle, Brian leans forward to survey what’s left of the pile. He spreads them out and wrinkles his nose as his gaze lands on a glittery snowman.

“Veto,” he mutters, flicking it across the table. Several other ornaments meet the same fate, including all twelve stuffed reindeer and the set of plastic gingerbread men. Brian practically gags as he discovers a porcelain kitten with a candy cane in its mouth.  _”Veto.”_

Justin catches it as it comes flying in his direction. He turns the kitten over in his palm and muses, “Maybe Gus would like it.”

“Veto,” Brian says again, flicking aside a teddy bear wearing a Santa hat and cuddling a penguin dressed as an elf. Really, what the hell is that about?! Then he catches part of what Justin just said, pauses, and asks, “Did you say something about Gus?”

“Maybe he’d like these.” Justin grabs the teddy and puts it back in the parcel with the kitten. “He said in his last letter that he wants his room to be all Christmassy. Why not send some of these his way?”

Brian can’t help but smile. “He’d love that.”

“Yeah.” Justin beams at Brian, but then his gaze flickers towards the boxed-up tree and he sighs. “Uh, we don’t have nearly enough to decorate that thing.”

“No, we don’t.”

They both stare at the tree, then at each other. Brian smirks at Justin. “I think this calls for that black Amex you were complaining so much about.”

*

“I can cover this,” Justin protests as Brian leads them through their favourite boutique on Prince St. “It was my idea-”

“Yeah, but it’s  _our_ Christmas. I’ve got this, Sunshine.”

“Why - if it’s  _’ours’,_ which of course it is - are we defaulting to you paying?”

“Because,” Brian halts by the display of Christmas decorations and turns to face Justin, “Have you seen how much this stuff costs?”

He plucks one bauble off the display tree and angles the price tag towards Justin. “Macy’s, this isn’t.”

“I can afford that,” Justin says with a shrug.

“I know you can. But can you afford enough to cover the entire tree?”

“Well-”

“I’ve got this,” Brian insists. “Save your money for your work. You were just telling me you need to restock your supplies and we both know how much that costs.”

Justin huffs and gives the price tag a filthy look, as though it’s to blame. Then he angles a small smile at Brian and offers, “If you cover the decorations, I’ll cover the food. Deal?”

“Deal.” Brian offers his hand to Justin.

Justin almost takes it, but then he adds, “And we’ll revisit this arrangement next year, when hopefully my financial situation will have improved somewhat.”

“Deal,” Brian repeats, and he smiles as Justin takes his hand. They shake on it, and then turn back to the display of decorations.

“So you like that one?” Justin nods to the bauble in Brian’s hand, with a slightly dubious expression.

Brian glances down at it and actually looks at it properly. He had only picked it up to prove a point, and hadn’t noticed that he was picking up a maroon velvet ball covered in gemstones. The damn thing is hideous.

He hastily returns it to the tree. “Uh, no.”

Justin laughs knowingly and hooks his arm through Brian’s. As he leans into Brian’s side, he asks, “What were you thinking, then?”

“Something… elegant.” Brian scans the decoration and comes up empty. Some are elegant, some aren’t - none are quite right. “Something other than this shit.”

“Yeah.” Justin turns inwards, closer towards Brian, and kisses his cheek. “Let’s keep looking.”

*

After weaving through endless shops spread out over Prince, Mercer, and Broome, they finally find a place that boasts the kind of decorations Brian is looking for. Together, they choose a string of lights with simple clear glass globes which are the size of marbles. Justin suggests that they wind around the tree, while Brian imagines they’d look nice elsewhere, too, so one string soon turns into six. They also find a set of baubles which are similar to the lights - they’re made of thick translucent glass and feature slender satin ribbons to tie them to the tree. There’s no glitter, nor sequins, nor gemstones - just plain glass baubles that glisten as soon as light hits them. Brian goes for the set featuring green glass, while Justin grabs a couple of the clear sets. Satisfied, they head to the register, where they join a curling line of customers. With time to spare, Brian grabs Justin and kisses him.

Once the decorations are bought and paid for, their attention turns to the next tradition: food.

Much like the tree, this tradition was Justin’s idea. However, unlike the tree, Brian has yet to warm to it.

As they depart the restaurant where they just had lunch (and way too much of it at that), Brian snarks, “Is the tradition for me to double in size?”

“The tradition is to enjoy a nice meal together,” Justin says, shaking his head at Brian. He tugs on Brian’s hand and leads him towards the bakery on Wooster. “Well - several, actually. I say we do it this way: I make breakfast, we go out for lunch, and then we eat in at night - takeaway, dessert, and plenty of drinks.”

“Right.” Brian pulls a face as Justin pushes him through the bakery’s double doors. As he spies cases full of pastries, cakes, and more, he mutters, “So the tradition is that I’ll  _triple_ in size.”

“We’ll work it off,” Justin says with a scintillating grin. After setting down the two bags containing their new collection of decorations, he grabs Brian’s hips and pulls him in for a tender kiss. “Come on - it’s Christmas. What’s the point of the holidays if you can’t enjoy delicious food?”

Brian can feel his resolve diminishing, which isn’t surprising, what with the promise of ‘working it off’, plus Justin kissing him, plus the temptations that lay within the bakery’s gleaming display cases.

“Besides,” Justin points out, “You need to fatten up a  _little_ before we head back to the Pitts, or else my mom is going to freak out, and then you’ll be force-fed by her for days on end.”

“True,” Brian acknowledges, whilst gazing at one of the cakes.

Justin must notice that he’s eye-fucking the damn thing, because he grins and tugs on Brian’s shirt. “You want that one?”

“Maybe,” Brian says casually, as though his mouth isn’t watering at the sight of the cake. It’s a two-layered chocolate torte, with raspberries sandwiched between the layers and surrounding the base, and cocoa dusted all over it.

Justin smirks, kisses Brian’s neck, and then catches the attention of the boy behind the counter. “We’ll have that one, thanks. And a box of the gingerbread men.”

“Sure,” says the boy, who is almost as tempting as the torte.

Brian pulls Justin close and murmurs in his ear, “Can we have  _him_ for dessert?”

“I tried a few weeks back,” Justin says sulkily. “He’s straight.”

“Shit.”

“I know, right?” Justin pulls a face, then tugs on Brian’s shirt again to demand another kiss. “It’s okay - we can find someone else.”

“Some other night,” Brian says, without even really thinking. He catches the surprise registering on Justin’s face and can’t help but laugh. “Do you think I’ll have the energy to deal with anyone other than you after all of this?”

Grinning, Justin retorts, “Is that really the reason?”

There is a brief moment where Brian considers pretending that  _is_ the reason, but then Justin eases in to nuzzle his neck and his resolve vanishes completely. He cups Justin’s face in his hands and kisses him until he feels Justin sway a little. Then Brian embraces him, presses his lips to Justin’s ear, and whispers, “There are nights when I just want you. This is one of them.”

“Brian,” Justin murmurs. His hands slide into Brian’s coat and up his sides in a sweet caress. Then, as they wait for the boy to finish boxing up the torte and gingerbread, they huddle together by the register and kiss, and kiss, and kiss.

*

The third tradition, as proposed by Justin, is a blend of the first two. When they arrive home, they get to work on setting up the tree and decorating it, all whilst enjoying the gingerbread men procured from the bakery plus glasses of red wine, filled to the brim and quickly emptied.

“You were right,” Brian remarks as he watches Justin wind the lights around the tree. “This is nice.”

Justin finishes securing the lights to the top of the tree. Then he turns and flashes a grin at Brian. “I thought you’d like it.”

Brian reaches out and takes Justin’s hand, so that he can help him down from the stepladder. Justin kisses his cheek by way of thanks and hands Brian the remote. “You do the honours.”

With a flick of the switch, the lights go on, leaving the tree illuminated. It’s almost as bright as the smile that blossoms on Justin’s face. Brian swoops in and kisses the corner of his mouth, wanting that glimmer of sunshine for himself.

“Now for the baubles,” Justin says. He grabs a gingerbread man, breaks it in half, and hands Brian the bottom half. It must be the twentieth man they’ve devoured in the past hour (a new record, of sorts), but given they’re also more than halfway through the bottle of red, Brian has long since stopped giving a shit. 

By the time the baubles are all gracing the tree, the bottle of wine is empty and the gingerbread men have been utterly depleted. The other strings of lights are lining the windows, and Jennifer’s decorations - those that survived the cut-throat veto process - have found places in the kitchen.

“The food’s on its way,” Justin says as he hangs up the phone. He drops it on the coffee table and rushes into Brian’s arms. With a mischievous grin that spells trouble, he adds, “It’ll be a while, though - they’re crazy busy tonight. Whatever shall we do in the meantime?”

“Hmmm…” Brian swoops Justin closer, kisses him, and then tosses him onto the sofa. “Let’s see…”

As he goes to unbutton Justin’s shirt, Justin laughs with delight and starts tugging Brian’s sweater off. Brian’s head is swimming a little from all the wine plus the drinks they had at lunch, and he only grows dizzier from Justin’s feverish kisses. 

It’s a lot like it was yesterday, when they were in the midst of making up: frantic and frenzied… well, at least to begin with, as they tear each other’s clothes off and tease each other with tantalising touches. Then, as Brian grabs Justin’s hips and pushes inside him, he gets the urge to savour the moment. He slows down and takes it moment by moment: kissing Justin’s neck, feeling Justin’s arms and legs wind around him, starting out with shallow thrusts, then gradually moving deeper until he is filling Justin. That’s when Justin comes, and Brian soon follows. They collapse into a sweaty, satisfied heap and hold each other. After a moment or two, Justin wriggles out from under Brian, turns them over, and lies down on top of him with his ear pressed to Brian’s chest, as though he’s listening to Brian’s heartbeat.

Then, together, they lie and gaze upwards at the tree towering over them, with its white frosted branches, the glossy baubles, and the string of lights shining brightly. 

Brian stares up at it until it’s all a blur. All the while, he keeps stroking Justin’s hair with his right hand. His left stays plastered to Justin’s sweat-dappled back.

When the buzzer buzzes, it makes Brian start. He had almost lost himself in the moment.

“That’ll be the delivery guy,” Justin mumbles into Brian’s chest. With a small groan, he picks himself up. “I’ll get it.”

Brian watches as Justin grabs the throw from the armchair and wraps it around himself. Then, with only that concealing his nakedness, he goes to buzz the guy up and answer the door. Brian smiles, relaxes back, and admires the lights strung around the windows. It’s enthralling - the golden lights framing the glass, through which the multi-coloured lights of Soho are visible.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Justin remarks as he lugs in two giant bags, packed full of cartons of Chinese food. As he sets them down on the coffee table, he smiles at Brian and offers, “I’ll grab us some drinks… do you want a beer?”

“Yeah.” Brian sits up and reaches for one of the bags, to start unpacking their feast. He can hear Justin in the kitchen - opening the fridge, grabbing a few bottles of beer, humming to himself all the while.

What’s that tune? White Christmas?

As Justin walks back into the lounge with their beers in hand, Brian places the lyrics.

_May your days be merry and bright…_

Today has been blissfully merry and bright. Brian can’t recall when he last felt this happy. And there is still more to come - over lunch, they resolved there would be dancing after dinner, and an old movie to pair with dessert, and of course, plenty of time spent in bed. The promise of what they have to look forward to kindles a spark in Brian’s core. 

He waits until Justin has set the bottles down next to the food, then Brian grabs his wrist and pulls him close. With him seated and Justin standing, Brian can press his face against Justin’s chest and nestle against the warmth. He imagines that there’s a spark within Justin too, one to match his own. 

Meanwhile, Justin wraps his arms around Brian, then presses his face into Brian’s hair.

“Merry Christmas,” Justin whispers, giving Brian a loving squeeze.

“And you, Sunshine,” Brian replies, pressing a kiss to the spot where he can feel the thump of Justin’s heart. “And you.”

 **The End**  

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to wish all my lovely readers very safe and happy holidays! I hope you enjoy what remains of 2015 and that you have a great beginning to 2016 :) Love and hugs from Elissa <3


End file.
